In the early 20th century, Baltimore City codified racial segregation in housing into law, prohibiting African Americans from moving onto blocks where white residents were the majority. As the city grew, the sewer commission methodically avoided building infrastructure in Black neighborhoods. That’s one example given by historian Andrew Kahrl of how African American taxpayers have been denied the benefits of their dollars.
Andrew Kahrl is a professor of history and African American studies at the University of Virginia. His new book is “The Black Tax: 150 Years of Theft, Exploitation, and Dispossession in America.” He'll be speaking about it on Tuesday, April 16th at the Enoch Pratt Free Central Library.
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